Understanding how an initially homogenous population of cells organises into tissues and forms an embryo is a fundamental problem in developmental biology. Processes occurring across multiple scales must be precisely coordinated: from individual gene expression to the behaviour of single cells, to the forces driving the simultaneous movement of thousands of cells. Using quantitative live imaging technologies, we visualise and investigate how these dynamic mechanisms control tissue formation and cell fate in vivo.
We have recently set up a new transgenic quail model which enables long term imaging of embryogenesis and replicates key morphogenetic events of human development. Now, we are using the quail model system to understand the dynamic processes driving formation of the neural tube and reveal how the nervous system is established in real time.